Alegria!
by Alaskan Air
Summary: Odd's psychic friend moves from the US. She soon realizes, she's basically where she was back in the states. Ulrich is the only one who really understands her and they seem to have some sort of connection.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note! Ok, this is a Code Lyoko fanfic (for those of you who couldn't read the information).** .com/gallery/#/d2u9smf **- Now this link my good little zucchinis, is a picture by my friend Becca depicting the characters. Max is the one doing the super spy pose with Odd. BTW! Yumi sees Ulrich like a brother! She doesn't like him and he doesn't like her (just for the story's sake). ENJOY! :D**

I looked out the window and looked down on France. I took out my book and started reading again. I debated taking pictures of the Eifel Tower, but decided I could take plenty pictures now that I lived here.

"Are you on vacation with your family?" the old lady next to me asked. We had been talking on and off and I tried to be polite as possible.

"No, I'm actually moving here from Chicago," I responded. I could tell she'd be talking to me for a while, so I book marked my page and put it away.

"Do you speak French? It will sure be hard if you don't," she chuckled.

"Oui, je plarle Français. I don't know much, which might cause a problem, but I heard that the boarding school I go to will use English as a primary language," I assured her. I probably would never see her again, but I still didn't want to give her the name of the school. I wanted to make sure she wouldn't try to find me at Kadic. It would be totally awkward having some one you met on the plane meet you some where else other than the plane.

"That's good. So does family live near by?" she asked. Geese when would this woman stop asking questions?

"No. I do have a friend waiting for me though," I answered. She was about to say something else, when the pilot interrupted her. He told us we landed and welcomed us to France. I quickly got my items and left to meet my best friend, Odd Della Robbia.

He was waiting right out side the gate for me and gave me a giant bear hug as soon as I got out, spinning me around.

"Odd, Odd! Oi! Calm small child!" I laughed. Odd put me down, grinning like an idiot. I laughed and gave him a regular hug.

"It's so good to finally have you in France, Max!" he said. He started to pick up my tote, but I beat him to it.

"I'm glad I'm here, but I insist on carrying my own bags," I laughed. We walked down to the baggage claim, where Odd insisted he carry at least one bag. At that point I had no choice.

"Here's our ride!" Odd called as a black car pulled up. A girl about a year older than Odd and I was sitting in the front, dressed completely in black. She got out and so did a man, whom I assumed to be her father.

"Hello, I'm Yumi Ishiyama, and this is my father. Odd has told us a lot about you, Maxine," she introduced her self.

"Please, call me Max," I said, shaking each of their hands. We loaded the bags into the car then Odd and I slipped into the back.

"So, Max, you're all the way from Chicago. How is it there?" Mr. Ishiyama asked.

"Well, it's really nice, especially during the summer, but it can get really chilly in the winter. Chicago is a nice city for the most part. I didn't live there, but it was really nice when I visited it," I explained.

"Oh, where were you from?" Yumi asked, turning to face Odd and I.

"I lived in a town called Mount Prospect, it's fairly close to Chicago," I answered. She nodded. "So, can you two tell me more about Kadic and some of the people there?"

"Oh of course! Well, Kadic is a really nice school for starters. Make sure to pay attention in most classes and you'll do fine," Yumi answered.

"But stay away from this girl named Sissi. She'll ruin your days at Kadic for sure. If you just hang with me, Yumi, and our little group, you'll be fine," Odd added. I perked up at little group.

"Could you tell me about your group?" I asked.

"Well, there's Jeremy Belpois, I call him Einstein, and he's a big computer nerd, so you'll have some thing to talk about. You've met Yumi, and you two seem to get along great. There's Aelita Stones, she's really nice and a bit of a nerd, too. And last but not least there's Ulrich Stern. He's a really cool guy and my roomie! You'll love all of them," Odd explained. I laughed a bit.

"They sound cool," I nodded.

"So, how do you and Odd know each other?" Yumi asked, turning around to face us. We looked at each other and laughed a bit.

"Well, I was looking for my friend who also goes by Odd, on Skype and I completely forgot his last name, so I clicked on Odd's name. We started talking via Skype and became great friends, just by my mistake," I explained. We all laughed a bit.

"And she's been my bestest American buddy ever since," Odd finished up. We pulled up in front of the school and I tried to grab all of my bags, but Odd beat me to two of them. I sighed, letting him help. We went to the office, where I grabbed my key. I was apparently rooming with one of Odd and Yumi's friends, Aelita, who they told me about. We dropped off the bags in the room and went to find their other friends to introduce me to. Since it was Sunday, there were no classes and every one was just walking around.

Yumi ran off to a group that consisted of a blonde boy with glasses and a light blue turtle neck, a pink haired girl, dressed in pink from head to toe, and a boy with chestnut hair and an army green jacket. Odd grabbed my wrist and ran over to them too, dragging me the whole way.

"Everyone, this is Maxine Greane. She's my friend from the US that I was telling you about," Odd said.

"Please, feel free to call me Max," I smiled.

"I'm Jeremy, and this is Aelita and Ulrich. It's nice to meet you Max," the boy with glasses said.

"Oh, it's exciting to meet you! You're my new roommate, correct?" Aelita asked. I nodded and she beamed.

"It's nice to finally meet the girl that Odd won't shut up about," Ulrich smirked, causing the group to laugh and Odd's face to turn a bit pink as he laughed nervously along. Then a girl with black hair and two boys walked over.

"So, you guys already abducted a new nerd to add to your group?" she sneered. That angered me.

"And who are you to judge me or them?" I challenged. She glared at me.

"I'm the principle's daughter, Sissi. It's a name you will soon fear," she spat.

"I believe you're mistaken, for my name is the one that you will fear mortal," I glared back. She seemed taken back by mortal.

"Mortal? Just who do you think you are?" she challenged.

"I am known as many different names, but on your pathetic planet, I'm known as Max. Now leave before I unleash my horrible wrath upon thee," I threatened.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do to me?" she questioned.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked. I'm a goddess of darkness and fire. I will trap you in darkness's clutches and squeeze you close to death. Then my ravens will pluck each and every dark hair of yours off. Then I will cut out your eyes, mouth, and limbs. I will burn you, and leave my scars. Then I will let you go to live among your people and all you will hear are people commenting how horrid you look or babies crying at the sight of you. Now leave before I carry out my promise to bring this fate upon you," I said, making her back up at each part. The horrified look on her face was priceless and her friends' faces were too. I growled, causing them to run away. I turned back to Odd and his friends and they looked scared too. I simply took a bow.

"Oh my word," Jeremy commented.

"How was my first performance in France? Was it convincing?" I asked, grinning.

"You were amazing Max!" Odd shouted. I laughed a bit.

"I don't think I've ever seen Sissi so scared in my life," Ulrich laughed. The rest joined in, laughing at Sissi's expression. We were only interrupted by Jeremy's computer buzzing.

"Sorry, Max, but we have to leave," Jeremy said. They all started to head for the woods, except for Odd.

"Odd, are you coming?" Yumi asked. The rest of the group stopped.

"Can't Max come? I mean, I would trust her with my life. We can certainly let her in on what goes on," Odd asked.

"I would like to know where you're going, but if you don't think I should come, that's fine," I answered. I was curious, but curiosity killed the cat. Poor cat…

"Maybe next time, Odd, but right now, we need to get to the factory now," Jeremy said. I nodded. Odd gave me a sad look, then left.


	2. Chapter 2

I watched them leave and walked back to my room to unpack. I saw a small book case off to the side and unloaded all of my books, mostly plays and Shakespeare stuff, but they were stories just the same. I set up my lap top and started writing more of my song. I got to the second verse, when Aelita came in.

"Hey, Max? Um, I was wondering if you could come with me," she asked. I nodded and put my song away. I followed her to Odd and Ulrich's dorm. Yumi and Jeremy were there, too.

"Sit down Max," Ulrich said, gesturing a spot on his bed. I sat and a bright light was shone in my face.

"What are you doing? Is this some kind of interrogation?" I asked, trying to block the light from my eye.

"Has Odd told you anything about something called Lyoko?" Jeremy questioned.

"What? No. Wait, Lyoko?" I asked. They nodded. I remembered my song. Shoot.

"I've heard of it, but not from Odd. Is it a virtual world that has technology that could, I don't know, possibly take over the world? And is the evil guy's name some where along the lines of X.A.N.A?" I asked nervously. All of their eyes went wide, except for Ulrich's. I had a feeling he could keep a face like that no matter what I said.

"And how do you know about this?" Jeremy asked. I could hear the fear in his voice. I debated whether or not to play this up.

"I had a dream about it once, and I'm writing a song about it. I'm planning on writing a book too and getting it on the big screen," I smiled. They didn't know the book was a lie, but Ulrich seemed the first to catch on.

"Have you told any one?" Ulrich asked. I looked at him and answered no. They huddled for a bit and seemed to make a decision.

"Congratulations. You have passed the questioning. Now we have one final question to ask you. Can you keep a secret?" Ulrich asked. I nodded. They turned out the light and put the regular lights on. I blinked a few times to get used to the lighting, but I was fine afterwards.

"Lyoko, the world you dreamed of, is real. We all go to Lyoko by this super computer and some scanners in this abandoned factory. We, Odd, Ulrich, Aeilita, and I are known as Lyoko Warriors. You will too, soon. We battle an evil program called X.A.N.A. So, will you join our group to help us?" Yumi asked.

"Of course! I can't wait to go!" I smiled. Everyone welcomed me to the team, but they said they required me to tell them about myself.

"Well, do you have any specific questions?" I asked. They looked at each other and started rambling off questions and I answered all of them. It was stuff like favorite color: olive green, favorite flavor of ice cream: pineapple (yes they have it), favorite fruit: kiwi or watermelon, favorite singer: Regina Spektor, favorite group: Train and Norweigan Recycling, hobbies: singing, acting, writing, drawing, ghost hunting. Everyone had asked a question, except for Ulrich, after about an hour or two.

"Do you have any special abilities?" Aelita asked.

"Well, I can hack into most networks if that's a special ability. Otherwise I am a psychic slash medium. Meaning, I can see the future occasionally, sense spirits, read tarot cards, all that mystic mumbo jumbo," I said. They seemed to get excited over this. The next thing I knew, I had an appointment to read tarot cards for them for each day of this week. After that, Ulrich finally thought of a question.

"Do you ever get that empty feeling, that nothing seems to fill, until you meet some one who seems so different that you can't believe them, but still captivates you even when you don't want them to?" Ulrich asked, surprising all. What scared me though was how he knew.

"Yes. But, how did you know? Do you have that empty feeling too?" I asked cautiously. He gave me a sad smile, and I nodded in response.

"Who knew Ulrich was that deep?" Odd joked. He laughed alone, but soon every one dropped the subject. We all left for our rooms after half an hour of just talking. Aelita and I got dressed for bed, and I soon fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

I dropped down and landed on my feet, but then fell backwards. I was in some Forest region. Ulrich soon dropped next to me. He was dressed in a black and yellow sort of samurai outfit. He had a band on his head and a sword on his hip.

"Very nice Max," he said extending a hand. I took it and got up. Ulrich was looking at me from my head to my toes. My hair was pulled up into a high bun and a green helmet like material wrapped around part of my head, leaving a hole for my bun. I was wearing a pale olive green full body suit with forest green knee high boots, chest plate, and skirt. A brown pack, containing a bow and set of arrows was on my back and I had brown fingerless gloves on. I also had two swords on my hips.

"Like what you see?" I asked playfully. I did a few poses and I could see a tint of pink to his cheeks.

"Why don't we start out with some target practice for your bow? Jeremy! Could you get us some Krabs?" Ulrich asked.

"Sure thing. Three Krabs coming your way," Jeremy said out of no where. I looked around and saw three crabs coming our way, each with a red symbol on their heads. I pulled out my bow and an arrow and shot all in the center of the symbol.

"Impressive. Do you want to try out your swords?" Ulrich asked drawing his out.

"Sure, I'm up for an easy win," I answered with a cocky smile.

"It'll be anything but easy," Ulrich answered taking a swing at me, which I quickly blocked. I took a swing at him, but he dodged it and swung at my leg. It missed me by a millimeter. This went on for a while, until I knocked Ulrich's swords out of his hands and pointed my sword at him.

"Check mate," I said triumphantly. I lowered my sword and let him get his back.

"You're amazing. I wonder what powers you have. I'll check if Jeremy found your abilities yet. Jeremy, did you find them?" Ulrich asked.

"Max, you can teleport and levitate people and objects. You can also tell your enemy's next move. Your practically psychic here," Jeremy answered.

"Coolio!" I said. Ulrich suggested I try the teleportation. I teleported directly behind Ulrich and tapped him on the shoulder. Before he could turn around and see me, I teleported in front of him. I tapped him again and he jumped to see me.

"I bet you'll have fun with that," he laughed.

"Oh of course I will," I laughed.

"Do you want to try the levitation now?" Ulrich asked. He had no idea that we were already off the ground. I giggled a bit and motioned for him to look down. When he did, he saw the ground feet below us. He looked back at me with his eyes wide and jaw down which made me laugh even more. We were up for a while, but then Jeremy told me to put us down, ruining the fun.

"You've already shown your psychic abilities, so we're done for today," Ulrich said. Jeremy scanned us back up with a flash of bright light.

Aelita's alarm clock went off, waking me up as well as Aelita. At least good music woke us up. I was surprised that all of that was just a dream. It felt so real, it couldn't have been a dream.

"Aelita, what day is it?" I asked drowsily.

"Monday, your first day of school. Why?" Aelita gave me a worried look.

"Did I go to Lyoko yesterday for training with Ulrich?" I responded.

"No, you haven't been to Lyoko yet. Did you dream about it?" Aelita was now sitting on the edge of my bed.

"I think I did. I'll be really surprised if it comes true though, I mean, it was a pretty long dream and I don't think that it'll come true. My "visions" if you will, only come at seconds at a time," I told her.

"Here, we'll talk to everyone today at breakfast. Let's get dressed to go meet them," she soothed. We quickly got dressed and went down to breakfast to meet everyone. The dream I had still bothered me a bit, just because of how real it was. We grabbed our breakfast and went over to the table.

"Where's Odd?" I asked nervously as soon as I saw my blonde friend's absence.

"Sick. He has a nasty cold," Ulrich responded. My blood ran cold. One down and two to go if my vision would come true.

"Max, tell them about your dream," Aelita whispered to me.

"Not yet, I want to see if it even has a chance yet," I responded.

"So Max, how about going to Lyoko after school tomorrow?" Jeremy asked. I looked over at Aelita and she gave me a face to tell them. I shook my head.

"Sure, Jeremy. That'll be cool," I responded smiling.

"Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich, will you be able to come and help Max?" Jeremy asked looking at each and every one of them.

"Sorry Jeremy, I can't come. I have a test coming up in math soon that I need to study for." Two down and one to go. I looked at Aelita who was panicking as much, if not more than me.

"Jeremy, I also have a test that I need to study for," Aelita said. Jeremy saw the look on our faces, but dismissed it.

"I'm free, so why don't you and me train together, Max? Max?" Ulrich rushed over to support me. I must seem like I was gonna pass out any second. I looked at him straight in the eye, full of fear. Wait, what did I have to fear? I could hear the group calling my name in the distance. All of a sudden I saw a bright light again (no I wasn't dying) and I saw the last part of my dream, it changed though.

"That was awesome Max! We'll have to do that again some time," Ulrich smiled in his samurai costume. I nodded. Jeremy scanned us back up and Ulrich and I came out of the scanners.

"Thanks for a great time, Ulrich," I said kissing him on the cheek. Ulrich blushed a bit, but seemed to appreciate it. I walked towards the elevators and looked back at Ulrich, giving him a flirtatious grin.


	4. Chapter 4

I saw a bright light again and I back at the table with my friends. They all had worried expressions as they crowded me.

"Back off guys! She needs some air," Ulrich yelled. I apparently was on the ground, because Ulrich was trying to hold me up.

"Aelita, the ending changed," I said weakly. Jeremy and Yumi frantically asked what was going on. Aelita quickly explained my dream, because I was in no condition to.

"I can't believe a vision came in the middle of the morning," I said getting back into my chair.

"Can you tell us?" Jeremy asked. Everyone seemed to lean in to hear.

"I, I, can't remember," I lied. I was a terrible liar, but after my most recent episode, no body could really tell.

"Well, if you remember please tell us," Ulrich said with a reassuring smile. I nodded. I remembered then I forgot my schedule.

"Dang. I forgot my schedule," I laughed a bit. Ulrich then offered to walk me to the office after breakfast to get it. We finished up early, to allow time to get my schedule. We walked outside in the bright late summer sun to the office talking along the way.

"So, what did you see?" Ulrich asked. He could see right through me. I felt my face get hot and looked away a bit.

"I saw you telling me how awesome it was when I levitated you and then Jeremy scanned us back and we got out of the scanners. I thanked you and we left," I explained. I was pretty sure that he didn't know I left a part out, but he could tell something was up.

"Why couldn't you tell the others about this?" Ulrich asked stopping me in my tracks. I had to think of an excuse fast.

"It was no different than my dream, I just could see that we got out of the scanners. Nothing much different than the original," I said in a quick panicking voice. Ulrich gave me a suspicious look, but then just decided to drop it.

"So, why did you transfer to Kadic?" he asked after a few moments of an awkward silence.

"It's kind of personal…" I began, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Oh, don't feel like you have to tell me. If it's personal I respect that," he added quickly. I laughed a bit.

"No, don't worry. I trust you enough to tell you, but please don't tell anyone else. I don't want it to get around. You can't even tell Yumi, Aelita, Jeremy, or Odd," I said. Ulrich was surprised to hear Odd's name, but promised to keep quiet.

"My parents died in a fire a month or two ago. I went to live with my uncle, who was out of the house too much to take care of me. He sent me to Kadic so he wouldn't have to worry about me, but that's not the main reason. There was a little girl who lived in his house named Clara. She died about three hundred or so years ago, and she craved attention. I sensed her in the house, but my uncle didn't believe me. Later that month, I was reading about some different boarding schools my uncle had suggested, and I heard a scream. It was coming from Clara, and she was blowing everything in the living room around. When she stopped, she came over to me and said as clear as day "play with me". I was so scared, I didn't move a muscle. She repeated her self, but this time gave me this scar," I said pulling up the sleeve of my hoddie to show Ulrich the pentagram scratched into my upper arm. He gasped a bit and I continued the story, pulling my sleeve down. "I later found that her parents had been devil worshipers and sacrificed her to gain wealth. I ran out of the house as fast as I could and ran to the hospital where they saw the freshly cut pentagram. Originally, they thought I did it, but a medium had gotten injured around the same time and verified my story, because Clara was standing right next to the doctor. Soon, my uncle told me he packed my things and as soon as I was well, I was going to Kadic," I finished. Ulrich just stared at me for a while.

"Wow. I would have guessed something that horrid would happen to a girl as pretty as you," he said absentmindedly. He saw the slight blush on my face and his face turned red, realizing what he said. I laughed a bit.

"Yeah, my life was messed up," I commented, causing us both to laugh. There was another awkward silence. I started to hum "Fidelity" by Regina Spektor just to break to silence.

"What song is that?" Ulrich asked.

"Fidelity by Regina Spektor. It's a good song," I said.

"Could you sing part of it?" he asked. I nodded and started to sing. I finished the song by the time we got to the office. He kept his gaze on me the whole time. I'm sure my face turned at least twelve different shades of pink the whole time.

Ulrich started telling me that I could get a really good record deal with a voice like mine as we entered the office and I got my schedule. The secretary told me to see Mr. Delmas before I left for classes. Ulrich gave me a worried look, but I told him not to worry.

"Hello, Miss Greane. I suppose you're settled in?" Mr. Delmas asked.

"Yes, sir," I answered respectfully.

"And yesterday, my daughter accused you of the craziest thing. She said that you told her that you were a goddess of darkness and fire and that you were going to chop off her limbs and leave her barley alive," he chuckled a bit, but when he saw I wasn't he stopped. "Did you?" he asked full of concern.

"Yes. I'm sorry if I scared your daughter. I just needed to test out that line of a play I'm writing and your daughter happened to say the exact lines before it. I should have told her I was just acting," I lied. I didn't mean it when I had said it, but I would have gotten in trouble either way.

"Oh, that's fine then. Have a nice day Miss Greane," he said and dismissed me. Ulrich was outside the office waiting for me.

"What did want?" he asked nervously.

"Sissi told him what I said to her yesterday. I told him it was a line from a play I'm writing and I was just testing the effect out," I laughed. I handed Ulrich my schedule to look at.

"Amazing. We have every class together except for two, but Aelita, Jeremy and Odd are in those classes, so you should be fine," he said giving me my schedule back.

"It should be easy with you guys showing me around," I smiled. The warning bell rang and Ulrich and I walked to our first class.


	5. Chapter 5

The first part of the day went fairly well. I was in every one of his classes in the morning, except for math, which Jeremy and Aelita were in, so the day went well. All the teachers seemed to like me, so I figured by the end of the year, I could get away with stuff every once and a while. Ulrich and I walked to lunch together talking about just about everything. Sissi passed us along the way, but I shot her a glare and she decided against talking to us.

"What's up with her?" Ulrich asked, watching her jog away.

"I gave her a death glare, and by how fast she was running, her dad probably hasn't told her about my "play" yet," I explained. We laughed a bit as she ran into the lunch room. We followed, got our lunches and sat down.

"Hey Max! Ulrich!" Yumi called waving us over to the table. We smiled and walked over to sit in our usual seats.

"What's up?" I asked picking up a grape and plopping it into my mouth. Jeremy, Aelita, and Yumi exchanged glances. I got worried at this. Suddenly a girl named Carol from Jeremy, Aelita, and my math class walked up.

"Hey Max! So I've got a question," she started.

"Ask away," I smiled at her. Jeremy, Aelita, and Yumi seemed to already know her question, but as I looked at Ulrich, he seemed about as clueless as me.

"Are you and Ulrich dating?" she asked. I almost choked on my second grape.

"What?" Ulrich and I practically shouted in unison.

"What makes you think that?" I asked with a tinge of panic in my voice.

"Oh, Sissi said she passed you guys talking and when she was going to talk to Ulrich, you shot her a death glare. Seems like you have a girlfriend that gets jealous really fast, Ulrich," she said. Jeremy, Aelita, and Yumi looked surprised. Both mine and Ulrich's face heated up.

"I glared at Sissi because I hate her. I don't care if she talks to Ulrich. I just don't want her talking to me. And I'm not his girlfriend," I explained. Carol didn't seem to believe me and just skipped away.

"Oh wow. Who knows how far that rumor has spread," Ulrich said in dismay. Everyone nodded. I guess there was still drama even in France. "I can't believe that Sissi would make up something like that," Ulrich commented. I raised an eyebrow at him

"Oh, so you think being my boyfriend would be just oh so horrible. Thanks, Ulrich. Love you too," I said, trying to sound annoyed.

"No! It's not that I wouldn't, I mean I just that," Ulrich stuttered.

"Don't worry. I'm just giving you a hard time," I laughed. Everyone joined in while Ulrich laughed nervously.

"Hey Max, I've got a question," a girl named Lilly started.

"Is it, oh I don't know, if Ulrich and I are dating?" I asked, putting two fingers on my right temple, like Shawn Spencer from Psych. She looked surprised.

"How did you know?" she asked astonished.

"I'm psychic and all knowing. And to answer your next question, we're not," I answered. The look of amazement was stuck on her face as she went over to her friends. We all chuckled.

"That was amazing," Jeremy said after we calmed down a bit.

"Well, if you know what people are gonna say, might as well play it up," I answered with a smirk. "I'm an actress, you've gotta get used to it! I crave the spotlight, I yearn for the stage, my book case is filled with Shakespeare," I explained using a stereotypical theater director voice, using various gestures.

"It's true. I walked in last night and I saw her book case. At least half of it was Shakespeare. She was even reading Romeo and Juliet," Aelita confirmed.

"It's a classic! I can not even tell you how many stories revolve around the forbidden love that was created by William Shakespeare. You know, I once watched an anime series that was basically Romeo and Juliet, except they added characters and it was more of a fantasy. Strange enough, it left me with the feeling to acquire a flying dragon horse," I said. They gave me a funny look. "What? So I'm a theater nerd, go kill me if you don't like it," I answered defensively. We laughed.

"That's nice but what are we going to do about the rumor?" Yumi asked. Ulrich looked at me and I just shrugged.

"I say we leave it be. If people ask we say it isn't true. I mean, it's not like it can broad casted to the school, let alone the lunch room," I said.

"LISTEN UP EVERY ONE!" Sissi yelled. The whole room looked at her. "Thank you. Now I just wanted to say that Ulrich and Max are just the cutest couple that Kadic has ever seen. Thank you," she announced getting off of the table she was standing on. Our group groaned.

"I stand corrected," I said. Yumi decided to help set things straight.

"Sissi! They aren't dating! Seriously, quit telling everyone that lie!" Yumi yelled at her. She glared and came over.

"And how would you know? Maybe they're dating behind your back," she suggested.

"Are you sure that your headband isn't too small? I met Ulrich yesterday. I wouldn't be dating him after knowing him for one day, not even," I responded. She got a bit scared hearing something out of me.

"How should I know? I mean, I don't know if you're just another all American slut," she responded with a slight smirk.

"Listen up Sissi," I yelled standing up out of my seat. The whole room fell quiet. "It's one thing to make fun of me, but it's a whole other story to insult my nationality. So if you've got a problem with me, that's fine. Just don't insult America, because every single person in America has a bigger brain and more decency than you ever will with that kind of attitude. Now go over to your little friends and **never insult Americans or America ever again. Are we clear?**" I shouted. Sissi's face was deathly pale as she nodded weakly and ran away. I glared at her for a few more seconds, then sat back down with a huff.

"Wow. I will never insult America after that," Yumi said weakly. I took a deep breath, then chuckled a bit.

"And that's how an American deals with some one like Sissi. Judging by the look on her face and everyone else's, America will never be insulted in this school again," I smiled triumphantly.

"That's a good thing too. We wouldn't want your mighty American wrath or curse or something on us," Jeremy joked. We all laughed.

"Oh, Jeremy, silly child. There are many more ways to get me angry and go crazy on you," I laughed. They gave me a weird look.

"Really? You might want to tell us so we don't get you angry," Yumi suggested.

"Okay, number one, don't insult America or anything American. Number two, don't insult my acting or singing, you will die for that. Number three, don't ever call me a fake. You will get hurt so bad, because I am not fake. Number four, talk bad about any friends of mine, dead or alive, you will suffer. Number five, say something sexist, and I rip your throat out. Other than that, I'm fine with anything anyone dishes out," I rattled off. I could see Aelita making a mental note of those. I chuckled a bit and realized I had lied. I was a fake here. I didn't feel like my self and having them believe that this was me really hurt.

"Hey Max, are you okay?" Ulrich asked placing a hand on my shoulder. I winced and mouthed scar and he took his hand off.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm sorry guys, but you'll have to excuse me," I said getting up and throwing the leftovers away. I ran outside to find somewhere peaceful to sit and just think.

**(Yay! Different POV!) Ulrich's POV**

I watched Max walk out and I got really worried. She seemed unhappy here. Sure I had known her for a day, not even, I felt like I knew her enough to make that call. I remembered my question from our little interrogation session and remembered her answer. _Yes, how did you know?_ We're one of the same in that. I got up to follow her.

"Ulrich, where are you going?" Yumi asked. She seemed really worried.

"Something's wrong with Max. I'm gonna go check it out," I answered. I left to go find Max. I soon found her leaning on a tree. I was about to walk over, but some one beat me to it.

**Back to Max's POV**

I felt like I was going to cry. How could I face them when I wasn't me?

"Are you alright?" a voice asked above me. I looked up to see a guy with sandy blonde hair and sparkling green eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I answered trying to smile for him. I sunk down into a sitting position, leaning my head against the tree. He sat down next to me and smiled.

"By the way, I'm Owen," he said. I looked over at him, and I felt safe.

"I'm Maxine, but you can call me Max," I said. He nodded.

"So you're the girl that Sissi was talking about in that stupid announcement."

"Yep I'm that Max. I'm also the girl who yelled at her for insulting America," I smirked as we both laughed a bit.

"That was awesome. I've never seen Sissi so scared in my life," he chuckled. He had a great laugh. I told him about the whole "goddess of darkness" thing and he laughed even more. "So you're a theater nerd?"

"Yep I own and have read every one of Shakespeare's plays. Tragedies, Comedies, and Histories alike," I stated proudly. Most would think it's not something to be proud of but, I was.

"Same here. A Midsummer Night's Dream was my favorite. What's your's?" he asked. I was really beginning to like Owen. Another theater nerd would be good for me.

"I liked Romeo and Juliet. I love romantic, mushy, violent, stuff like that," I answered. He laughed again and it captivated me.

"That was a good one. I'm surprised you like the mushy romantic stuff. You seem all tough and more of a girl to like monster trucks and massive explosions," he added. I suddenly became very self conscience.

"Really? I mean, I'm a fan of massive explosions, but do I really seem that tough?" I asked unsure. He noticed and quickly comforted me.

"No, no, I mean, from what I saw in the lunch room, yes, but I don't know you that well, so I'm sure to your friends you don't, but I've only seen you get angry. I shouldn't be one to judge," he said quickly.

"It's okay. I usually don't get that angry. But when she called me a typical American slut, that got my blood boiling," I explained.

"She's known you for one day, and she's judging you. That not right," he said. I felt him wrap an arm around me, and I instantly felt protected and just accepted.

"Yeah, it's left," I joked. He didn't get it at first but he caught on quickly.

"Good one Max," he laughed. Ulrich came by and stood in front of us.

"Ello, Ulrich. Fine day isn't it?" I asked. He shrugged with a sad sort of look on his face.

"Can I talk to you? Alone?" he asked, directing the last part to Owen.

"That's my queue. Catch you later, Max," he called and jogged over to the lunch room. I really wish he had said, but not all wishes can be granted.

"What's up, Ulrich?" I asked. He took Owen's spot next to me and sighed heavily.

"The question is, what's up with you. You seem just down," he said. I sighed, remembering what I had come out here about.

"I'm fine." Ulrich gave me a look. "Really, I am," I said. He wrapped an arm around me and I automatically put my head on his shoulder.

"I can tell you're not fine," he said. I instantly felt like I was going to cry.

"Now it's my turn to ask a deep question," I said. I felt safe telling him. Something I didn't really feel with Owen. Maybe it was because I knew him longer, but a day seemed hardly long enough.

"Ask away," he answered. I was crying a bit at this point.

"Have you ever felt like you didn't belong, and even though you seem to, you feel like you're not yourself for some odd reason?" I asked. He heard a few sniffles and turned me to look at him. He whipped away my tears and returned me to my original position on his shoulder.

"Yes."

**Ulrich's POV**

It was horrible to see Max cry. Usually I wouldn't have a problem, especially some one I knew for about a day, but Max was different. I let her have a good, long cry before I elaborated.

"I felt out of place here for a while. I felt the need to put on this tougher mask on to make friends and to frankly, survive. Once I met Jeremy, Odd, and Yumi, I knew I could take that mask off around them, and be the goof ball I am, but I always left the tougher, more mysterious mask on to hide something that would label me," I told her.

"And might I ask what that was?" she asked timidly.

"I'm really a big romantic. I love all of that lovey dovey stuff. Romeo and Juliet was the only Shakespeare play I've ever liked just because of the romance," I told her. She looked up at me and smiled.

"I love Romeo and Juliet, too," she smiled. I was surprised to hear this, because of what I had seen her do to Sissi these days but I understand. "I'm ashamed to say, I wear a mask like yours too. It's unintentional though. I never want to be seen as tough and someone who's gonna break bones to get a point across. I'm just a little pugnacious, but Sissi has really brought that out. I'm really a softer person. Sure I may seem strong, tough and just some one you don't want to mess with, but those are only the times you insult me on certain topics. I'm really just a really insecure, hopeless romantic," she chuckled a bit. I finally really understood Max.

"I'm really honored that you can tell me this kind of stuff," I told her. She looked up at me, her eyes a bit red from crying. She settled back into my shoulder.

"I'm really honored that you can trust me with your secrets, too. I don't know why, but I just feel safe enough to take off my mask around you and I have the feeling I'll regret it," she chuckled a bit.

"Why would you think that?" I asked her. If she though I was ever gonna use this stuff against her, she was wrong.

"Just a feeling. Nothing more. I'm sure it'll go away in time, but let's face the facts, Ulrich. We've known each other for one day, and we already trust each other fully."

"That's because we recognize each other's problems and we can relate. You're secrets will always be safe with me," I told her. She reassured me of the same and I saw Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremy walk towards us. I guessed we had about fifteen minutes until classes started up again and only a few moments longer until Max would have to leave my arms.

"Hey guys, Max! What's wrong, sweetie?" Aelita exclaimed, worried by the residual red around Max's eyes.

"What did you do Ulrich?" Yumi asked angrily.

"It's not his fault Yumi. I was just really upset after Sissi's comments and came over here to cool off. Ulrich was just comforting me," Max said. I realized how good of an actress she was and how fast her mask could snap back on. We both got up, reassuring that everything was fine.

"Well, alright. If you're absolutely sure," Aelita said, a bit suspicious.

"We can take you to the girl's bathroom to get that red away if you want," Yumi suggested. Max nodded and Aelita took her hand and lead her away, with Yumi not close behind.

"So what were you talking about out here?" Jeremy asked.

"Sorry. I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone," I told Jeremy, shrugging. Jeremy gave me a suspicious look.

"Don't pretend that I don't see what's going on," Jeremy said, pushing up his glasses. My blood ran cold. I was pretty sure he didn't know bout both of our personality insecurities, but then again, he is a genius.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged, trying to keep a straight face. It was really hard to with the nagging suspicion that he knew.

"You like Max. It's just too obvious. I'm just surprised that she hasn't caught on. She's a very bright girl," Jeremy said. I let out a little sigh of relief and just decided to go with it.

"Yep Jeremy. You caught me. I really like Max," I laughed nervously. I wasn't too sure that was a lie, but Einstein just walked away smirking.


End file.
